While the new Star Wars: The High Republic subseries focuses on the Jedi at the height of their glory, the rising threats of the Nihil and the Drengir show that dark times may be ahead. At the end of Charles Soule’s Star Wars: The High Republic: Light of the Jedi, Jedi Master Elzar Mann has a vision of Jedi dying agonizing deaths in the midst of galactic chaos. Starwars.com recently posted a preview of Cavan Scott’s Star Wars: The High Republic: The Rising Storm, and this excerpt shows Elzar grappling with the possible future that he has foreseen. While Elzar does gain some insight into the coming danger, he still may be unable to stop the tragedies from occurring.
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Elzar’s initial vision occurs in the epilogue of Star Wars: The High Republic: The Light of the Jedi. While many lives have been lost in skirmishes with the Nihil, the Jedi are celebrating what seems to be a victory: the Starlight Beacon’s dedication ceremony, representing a commitment to peace and cultural growth. Elzar in particular is celebrating his upcoming appointment to Jedi Master due to his role in the relief effort and investigating the Great Disaster.
In the midst of the festivities, after a brief private conversation with Avar Kriss, Elzar reaches out with the Force, enjoying the view of space. In return, he is overcome with visions of Jedi dying and fleeing from multiple terrors. He sees “Jedi, many he knew, friends and colleagues, horribly mutilated, fighting battles they could not win against awful things that lived in the dark. Things that lived in the deep.” Throughout all of the flashes of the future, one overarching theme is the terror Elzar sees on his fellow Jedi’s faces as the survivors flee from their unseen foes.
In the new excerpt from Star Wars: The High Republic: The Rising Storm, Elzar attempts to decipher his vision on his own all while bristling at his promotion to Jedi Marshal of an outpost on Valo, the location of the Republic Fair. While he begins his research in the Jedi archives, his findings lead him to travel to Ashla, a moon of Tython, to meditate on how he can avoid this tragedy. Elzar receives more visions of the future, and he realizes that the Force has been giving him the answer all along: he needs to go to Valo.
The ending of the excerpt is hopeful, and Elzar seems to have direction to try to stop his vision from becoming a reality. However, the visions of Jedi are often hard to decipher. For example, Yoda had visions of the end of the Jedi during the Clone Wars, but he still was unable to prevent the tragedy of Order 66 and the Empire’s rise. Elzar’s focus on dealing with what he has foreseen alone could make it even harder for his fellow Jedi to prepare for what is to come.
Overall, this new excerpt sets up the upcoming wave of the High Republic subseries and provides hope for the future. The Force has provided Elzar with direction, and he now knows where the tragedy may begin. However, Elzar still may not be able to stop the coming chaos from overwhelming his fellow Jedi and the High Republic as a whole.
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